The Luzerne County Animal Response Team provides emergency shelter and rescue to animals in times of disaster, both natural and man-made. Luzerne CART is extension of the Pennsylvania State Animal Response Team and is tasked with responding to animals in emergencies like car accidents, house fires and floods. Our team sets up animal shelters, if an evacuation occurred for a disaster like a flood. We also do technical rescue for both small and large animals. We are an all volunteer group that is dispatched through the 911 call center.
Over 63% of households across the US have at least one pet.
When a Disaster Strikes Who Will Protect and Care for Them
In today’s world, we all worry about the threat of a natural or man-made disaster. Animals are especially vulnerable when a disaster strikes because they must rely on us for help. In 1999, Hurricane Floyd claimed the lives of millions of animals in North Carolina and thousands more were separated from their owners. Many of these animals could have been saved by a coordinated response plan. From this tragedy, the State Animal Response Team (SART) concept was born. In 2004, Pennsylvania adopted this concept to address its animal-related disaster response needs.
About PASART
Any Animal, Any Disaster, Anywhere
The Pennsylvania State Animal Response Team(PASART) was created through a private-public partnership to serve as a unifying network of organizations, businesses, federal, state, county and local government agencies, and individuals that supports the prevention, preparedness, response and recovery for emergencies affecting animals. Because disaster response needs to happen at a local level, PASART builds County Animal Response Teams (CARTs) across the state. County coordinators are selected to lead the development of county teams consisting of volunteers who will respond to emergencies at the local level. Join the Luzerne County Animal Response team at www.pasart.us, or if one is not created yet, help us get a CART started in your county.
Please watch this video to find out who we are and what we do:
If you have a domestic animal emergency, please call 911 to ask for the CART to be deployed. PASART does not respond to wildlife issues. Please direct those calls to the PA Game Commission.
Goals of PASART
- To facilitate a rapid, coordinated, and effective response to any emergency affecting animals;
- To decrease the health and safety threat to humans and animals;
- To minimize the economic impact of emergencies affecting animals; and
- To prevent or decrease the spread of disease during emergencies affecting animals.
The Pennsylvania State Animal Response Team(PASART) plays a key role in Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency’s(PEMA) Ready PA program. PASART and PEMA are partners in all hazards planning and preparedness.
Luzerne County Animal Response Team Local Objectives:
- Maintain effective communication with all CART resources during emergencies, ensuring that response is achieved safely, professionally, and with as little confusion as possible.
- Assist residents in the evacuation of both livestock and companion animals and safely retrieve stranded animals from areas under evacuation orders, when authorized to do so.
- Search a disaster scene and recover animals to a safe location.
- Safely extract animals from situations where technical rescue skills are needed.
- Shelter animals that have been evacuated.
- Provide veterinary medical care for animals affected by disasters.
- Assist public health personnel in addressing zoonotic disease and other animal-related issues that may impact public health during emergencies.
- Respond to animal issues in emergencies involving biological threats (livestock diseases or zoonoses), or chemical and radiological hazards, including natural, accidental, terrorist or criminal
events, providing trained resources through appropriate incident command channels. - Support local law enforcement authorities in caring for animals in large scale cases of cruelty, neglect, or animal hoarding.
- Assist local, state, and federal authorities in addressing wildlife, zoo, and wildlife sanctuary issues during emergencies.
- Address community cultural and mental health needs related to the human-animal bond, animal loss, anxiety over animal safety, and other animal-related concerns.
- Ensure that during emergencies, accurate and timely information concerning animal issues is disseminated to the public through appropriate channels.
- Effectively manage community donations/resources/volunteers and any requested resources mobilized from outside the community, including donations, personnel, supplies, and equipment.
- Accurately track the full costs of response for all resources mobilized through the County Animal Response Team, including supplies, equipment, paid personnel, volunteers, and in-kind donations.
- Address animal-related issues in the community long-term recovery plan.
- Provide training that will provide CART members with the knowledge, skills and abilities to meet objectives.
- Provide information to the public and local businesses concerning:
a. Individual preparedness (including animal-related responsibilities)
b. Continuity of operations planning for animal-related businesses and/or organizations
c. Biosecurity practices and emergency preparedness for agricultural producers
d. Zoonoses and animal issues related to public health
Please Click to View a complete list of PASART Objectives
Supported in part through a grant from the US Department of Homeland Security.
The Luzerne County Animal Response Team needs your help. We need people with all types of skills, expertise and resources. Visit our Volunteer Page for more information.
